Region

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McLaren Vale

The McLaren Vale wine region is located less than an hours drive south of Adelaide, along the coastline.

Shiraz is by far the most widely planted variety, and the most important variety for the region, accounting for about 50% of the total crush. Every winery in the region will likely be producing at least one or more Shiraz wines, and with the wide range of unique terroirs available, each influenced by the maritime climate in unique ways, each Shiraz will have its own regional nuances.

Shiraz produced in McLaren Vale will often exhibit chocolate and coffee notes, with a little less pepper than those from Barossa Valley, and are often blended with Grenache. Other red varieties grown include Cabernet Sauvignon (and Merlot blends) Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Zinfandel. The main white variety would be Chardonnay, however Semillon and it's common blending partner Sauvignon Blanc are made, alongside lesser amounts of Riesling, Pronto Bianco, Vermentino and Fiano.

If you plan to visit McLaren Vale there are over 65 cellar doors so you'll be spoiled for choice, ranging from the small-boutique wineries to very large wineries. The drive from McLaren Vale up to the Barossa Valley is very scenic, passing over the rolling Adelaide Hills, and though the quaint German-settled town of Hahndorf.

Brilliant wine. Its quality impresses from the outset. Full-bodied but polite about it. Blackberry, plum, a jellied sweetness, a full serve of cedarwood oak, florals, peppercorns. Pretty in part, gutsy in other, svelte. Tannin rolls and rumbles from the mid-palate onwards but it comes flooded with flavour. Generous and joyous.

95

points

Huon Hooke

Deep, youthful red/purple colour. The bouquet is shy but fresh, bright and clean, with dark plum fruit and quite strongly stated oak. It's very full-bodied, rich and deep, with youthful and slightly undeveloped, tightly-packed flavours, which promise to bring forth more in the future if it's cellared. There's a super-abundancy of tannin as well, balancing the formidable concentration. A big, solid, rugged shiraz. One for the cellar. Drink 2021 – 2043

97

points

James Halliday

Hand-picked, wild yeast open-fermented with 25% whole bunches, matured for 15 months in French oak (40% new). A distilled essence of shiraz from two blocks within a single estate vineyard. It's in no way overdone, but it does have some of the authoritarian stance of top flight cabernet. The black fruits speak in one voice of the ironstone soil in which the vines are planted. Great vintage, great wine.

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